Little Giraffe Foundation Names 2024 NICU Support Grant Recipients

The nonprofit donates a total of $20,189 in grant money to 21 medical institutions and non-profit organizations to support NICU patients and their families

CHICAGO, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Little Giraffe Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to funding neonatal research and supporting families and premature babies in the NICU, announced the 21 recipients of the foundation's 2024 NICU Support Grants. Since 2011, the Little Giraffe Foundation has delivered hospital bags to more than 30,000 families, provided $160,000 toward 170 separate NICU support grants, and provided more than $300,000 in medical grants to 34 different research initiatives. From the personal connection made through gift bags to advancing research and enhancing patient support through medical grants, every dollar contributed to the Little Giraffe Foundation directly impacts the present and future well-being of NICU patients.

"We are incredibly thankful for every single person who has supported the foundation—from our earliest donors to those joining us this year, and everyone in between," said Amanda Santoro, co-founder and president of the Little Giraffe Foundation. "It's thanks to this overwhelming generosity that we're able to offer 21 grants to vital NICU programs this year. As we head into the 2024 holiday season, our support is reaching more hospitals than ever before. Families have shared just how much these materials mean to them during tough times, and we are committed to touching even more lives in the coming year."

This year's Little Giraffe Foundation's NICU Support Grant recipients are as follows:

• Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts — to receive $1,000 to ensure infants in the NICU receive the specialized bottle systems necessary for safe and effective feeding practices.
• Redeemer Health, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 to provide families with basic needs, holiday gift bags, meals, and vouchers for transportation.
• Arvo James MacLure Memorial Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts — to receive $1,000 to provide each family in the NICU with a book to read together and take home, in hopes of creating lasting memories while also promoting infant brain development.
• Franciscan Health Olympia Fields, Olympia Fields, Illinois — to receive $1,000 for the purchase of gas/food cards for their NICU Transportation Fund.
• Jackson Health System, Miami, Florida — to receive $700 to revamp their CPR education program for families prior to getting discharged from the NICU.
• Jackson Health System—Holtz Hospital, Miami, Florida — to receive $1,000 to create a unit library, expand the way they offer sibling support, and expand the resources they provide to families during bereavement.
• At Home In The Crib, Iowa City, Iowa — to receive $500 to resupply NICU bed linens and give families the option to choose something bright and cheerful to match their nursery at home.
• Dayton Children's Hospital, Dayton, Ohio — to receive $1,000 to provide families in the NICU with gas and food gift cards.
• Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, South Dakota — to receive $1,000 to expand their NICU reading program and purchase books written in both English and Spanish.
• University of California San Diego Health, San Diego, California — to receive $1,000 to purchase the NuRoo Pocket skin-to-skin wraps for use during holding and skin-to-skin care by their patients' parents.
• Edward Foundation, Naperville, Illinois — to receive $1,000 to provide NICU patients and families with a strand of beads to provide support and help tell their story of courage during their NICU stay.

University of Maryland Medical System Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland — to receive $989 to expand their Goslings Program offerings to include NICU siblings and ensure families have a book to read to their babies.

• Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville, Kentucky — to receive $1,000 to purchase gift cards for NICU family support bags. These bags are filled with baby necessities and educational materials.
• Franciscan Health Lafayette, Lafayette, Indiana — to receive $1,000 to purchase approximately 100 gas cards. These cards will be shared with NICU families in need over the next twelve months.
• Ascension St. Alexius Women and Children's Hospital, Hoffman Estates, Illinois — to receive $1,000 to support the capital purchase of the AngelEye video technology for the NICU.
• North Colorado Medical Center, Greeley, Colorado — to receive $1,000 to purchase Boppy pillows, newborn carriers, and discharge books for NICU families.
• Franciscan Health Crown Point, Crown Point, Indiana — to receive $1,000 to purchase insulated coolers to protect the mother's breast milk for transport from home to the NICU.
• Massachusetts General for Children, Boston, Massachusetts — to receive $1,000 to initiate a program called the "Beginning Bag," which will establish and memorialize a baby's story, providing a tangible connection for families facing a life-limiting diagnosis or who are unable to spend considerable time at the bedside due to extenuating circumstances.
• UPMC Children's Hospital Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 to provide age-appropriate activity kits to send home to siblings of NICU patients.
• Harmonie Grace Foundation, Houston, Texas — to receive $1,000 to assist with funding care packages (hospital and transition home packages), gas cards, lodging, and final care/burial assistance for NICU families.
• Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — to receive $1,000 for the purchase of voice recorders aimed at enhancing pain management and maternal bonding in the NICU.

"By supporting these essential programs, we're helping parents focus on what matters most—the health of their little ones," said Mike Santoro, co-founder of the Little Giraffe Foundation. "From providing food and gas cards to ensuring babies have the resources they need to thrive, these grants make a tangible difference in families' lives. We owe it all to the steadfast support of our donors and volunteers, without whom this work wouldn't be possible."

To learn more about the Little Giraffe Foundation and its efforts to aid in NICU patient and family assistance, as well as neonatal medical research, please visit: http://www.littlegiraffefoundation.org/ and follow the organization's news on Facebook at: [https://www.facebook.com/LittleGiraffeFoundation.

About the Little Giraffe Foundation:
The Little Giraffe Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Chicago, dedicated to supporting parents and patients of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Since 2011, the foundation has delivered gift bags to more than 30,000 families during their stay in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), awarded 170 support grants to dozens of hospitals across the country, and funded over $300,000 in medical research.

Media Contact

Amanda Santoro, Little Giraffe Foundation, 312-267-0067, [email protected]

SOURCE Little Giraffe Foundation